The Meaning Of Life

https://biblehub.com/nkjv/2_samuel/11.htm

David was a great man. Often called the Shepherd King, he was chosen specifically by God, likely because of his heart. God knows the heart…let that be a lesson. You can show all appearances of being the perfect Christian, going to church regularly, making every attempt to obey God and His laws, professing your Christianity, but if it is all “work” and is not something you do with complete sincerity, God knows. He knows what is in your heart, whether your intentions are good or not. And mostly, David’s heart was good. He had the heart of a lion, brave when no one else was, had faith in God when no one else did, had the courage and confidence to go up against the giant Goliath when no one else did. And God knew David’s heart was the heart of a king.

God also knew David had a great character. Even though Saul was trying to kill David, and David had every opportunity in the world, in the name of self-defense, to eliminate that threat, David did not seek revenge against Saul. Saul was anointed by God, and despite Saul’s power driven, mental illness, drifting away from God actions, David respected Saul as being God’s chosen, and David wasn’t about to kill God’s chosen, even when his life depended on it.

But David wasn’t perfect. There was only one perfect man to walk the face of the earth, and that was Jesus. Jesus was without sin, but everyone else committed sin, even if it was in their heart alone. And David sinned, greatly. And then David sinned again to cover up his first sin, making matters even worse.

As you read, David was walking on his rooftop, and he saw a beautiful woman bathing nearby. And he lusted for that woman, and called his servants to go and get her.

I do not know enough about history to know whether it was the culture that allowed men to have their way with women, or if it was just the throne that allowed it. I know of many rapes that occurred in the Bible that were not acceptable, Dinah being one, but to simply call for a woman for the purpose of having sex seems more like an escort service to me. And while many patriarchs of the Bible had multiple wives and concubines, including Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, I doubt that it pleased God too much. God meant for one man to have one woman as wife, and as scripture says, they will become as one. Adam only had one wife, Eve. The Bible doesn’t mention Job having multiple wifes or Noah. But we know others did.

So David, as King, called for the woman because he wanted her, and he had sex with her, committing the act of adultery, a violation of the Seventh Commandment. The woman’s name was Bathsheba, and she became pregnant because of this romantic interlude.

Now Bathsheba was married to an Israelite warrior named Uriah. And when David found out that Bathsheba was with child, he devised a plan to make Uriah think it was his own child. David called Uriah in from the front lines under the pretense of asking how the battle was going, then he told Uriah to go home to be with his wife before returning to battle. But that plan failed. Uriah was a better man than David in this sense. Uriah wasn’t about to go home and enjoy a conjugal visit while his brothers were away from home and at battle. So Uriah refused to go to his house.

David was now in a pickle, as they say. Uriah refused to go home and sleep with his wife, and if Uriah didn’t impregnate Bathsheba, everyone would find out about David’s affair. So David did the worse. He sent Uriah back to battle, carrying his own death warrant, and ordered Joab to put Uriah in a position of battle which would kill him.

Not only did David commit adultery, but he now planned the murder of his mistresses husband to cover up the affair. Although David did not kill Uriah himself, he did commit murder.

The first four commandments deal with our relationship with God, the last six our relationship with our fellow man. David committed the most heinous of the commands against man. And what’s worth, it didn’t seem to bother him at all!

I worked in local government for 46 years, and I’ve first hand seen what power can do to a person. Some of the nicest people I’ve known have been placed in positions of leadership, and somehow the power goes to their head. I can only imagine that, regardless of how good a man David was, the power of kingship had to have affected him somewhat.

When you think you’re lost, when you think salvation cannot be yours, remember David. God’s chosen. One great guy, Jesus Himself came through the lineage of David. But David was not without sin, nor are we.

But we should always strive to be as righteous as possible. Remember who we are, be humble. Know that we are sinners, and when we realize we’ve sinned, own it. Confess your sins to God and ask for His forgiveness. And He will forgive.

We will read in the future where the Pharisees, the top Jewish leaders, proud and who felt they were sinless, tested Jesus by bringing Him a prostitute. They didn’t bring the man who hired her, they just brought her. And according to the law, they expected Jesus to stone her to death. But He didn’t. He forgave her.

And in his gentle way, He reminded the Pharisees and everyone else that we are all sinners, and we are all deserving of death. And once everyone realized they too were guilty of sin, they all left in a hurry.

The our wonderful Savior, helped the prostitute up, and He told her she was forgiven. But, He told her to go and sin no more. He gave her Grace for her past sins, but reminded her of the importance of trying to be righteous. And that is all we can do, is try.

And as they say with alcoholics, the first step is admitting you have a problem. Pray. God will understand. Ask for His help in warding off the temptations of Satan. Confess your sins to Him. Repent.

And remember just how much Love God has for you, and return that love to Him.